


a kiss between bros

by madhoney



Series: nct runs a store! [2]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV, WeishenV
Genre: Fluff, Gay questioning, Humor, Kissing, Lee Taeyong & Nakamoto Yuta Are Best Friends, Light-Hearted, M/M, Questioning, Recreational Drug Use, TWO IDIOTS, are we gay, chaotic overuse of gay, maybe so, taeyong is confused, why is kun so exasperated all the time?, yuta is confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 18:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madhoney/pseuds/madhoney
Summary: “Aw, fuck!” he groaned.“Yeahhh...” Yuta drawled, patting his friend on the shoulder comfortingly. “It’s cool, bro, I got your back. I know we’re not gay. Just two best buds who live together. And work together.”“It’s like the perfect life.”“Yeah man. The gays have nothing on us.”Dumb and Dumber high-fived confidently.





	a kiss between bros

**Author's Note:**

> god this is so dumb and self-indulgent and i just loved it so much. 
> 
> thank you to baby blue for always encouraging me and supporting me and being the sweetest love you! <3
> 
> i hope it gives you some laughs! PLEASE ENJOY !!!! 
> 
> xxx

“Sucks you have to be on register tonight,” Jaemin whined.

“Yeah... can’t really goof off as easily when I’m stuck ringing up,” Renjun sighed, walking beside him. “Bummer.”

It was roughly ten minutes to five o’clock and the two were trudging into the store for their respective shifts. Not exactly a type of date, but at least they were together.

Jaemin was doing that thing where he linked his pinky with Renjun’s and that always made him happy, despite being embarrassing and cheesy.

A gasp.

“Aww, that’s so gay!”

They stopped in their tracks and saw Taeyong leaning against the now-redundant floral designer’s counter, with the softest look of endearment and tenderness.

“Um—"

Another gasp. Taeyong’s eyes widened until they took up half of his face and he straightened up.

“Oh shit, oh god, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Taeyong rambled. He turned his eyes down to the ground, smacking his pink head. “Fuck Taeyong, you can’t just say that to your employees, you _dumbass_.”

 _R.I.P. my job_.

Renjun shot a concerned glance over at his boyfriend, who was biting back a laugh at their malfunctioning manager.

“Taeyong, it’s fine. We know we’re gay, it’s not a big deal,” Renjun said, laughing super nervously.

“And that’s awesome! I’m like, totally cool with that! Because... Because I’m gay too!”

_Nailed it. Job saved. Can’t fire a gay guy for talking gay stuff with other gay guys._

“Uh...ok—”

“Yup, big gay.” Yuta, the other floor manager, shuffled by at that exact moment and Taeyong grabbed his arm and pulled him over. “Wiiiith Yuta. Yeah.”

He linked their arms and smiled, quite frighteningly, at the younger two. Taeyong didn’t know why but in that moment, it felt entirely necessary to drag his long-time best friend into his stupid mess.

_Am I... overselling at this point? Nah. This is fine._

“...Right.”

“What are you talking about?” Yuta asked. His brows hadn’t defurrowed since Taeyong tugged onto him.

Taeyong dug his nails into Yuta’s arm.

“Just a bunch of gays!” he chuckled, like a fucking psycho.

And the most awkward of silences drifted between the four of them.

“So, we’re gonna just go, um... clock in now.”

Renjun and Jaemin skirted around the two, ducking their heads uncomfortably.

Taeyong dropped Yuta’s arm and exhaled all the air from his thin little body.

“Are you having a stroke? Are you gonna be okay closing tonight?”

“Oh my god, yeah seriously thank you. Trust me, I was _for sure_ gonna get fired if I didn’t tell them I was gay, dude,” Taeyong clarified, leaning his hands on his knees as if he had just avoided a near-death experience. “But I think it’s fine now.”

“Cool, cool. Good to avoid getting fired,” Yuta nodded. “Was it _totally_ necessary to say I’m gay too though?”

“Uh, yeah. I had to sell it.”

“Right. Natch,” Yuta agreed. “It’s just that, now that you said we’re gay together...everyone is gonna think we’re gay together...?”

It came out more like a question than a statement. Half of the things he said came out more like a question than a statement.

Taeyong’s eyes shifted for a few moments while he thought.

“Aw, fuck!” he groaned.

“Yeahhh...” Yuta drawled, patting his friend on the shoulder comfortingly. “It’s cool, bro, I got your back. I know we’re not gay. Just two best buds who live together. And work together.”

“It’s like the perfect life.”

“Yeah man. The gays have nothing on us.”

Dumb and Dumber high-fived confidently.

“Okay, so I’m headed out. You’ve got Renjun and Jaemin closing, and Hyuck on register until 7:45. Jaehyun will be here until like, 8, I think?” Yuta explained, counting the employees on his fingers. “Kun said to down-stock the canvases, if you can. There’s a sale on them tomorrow, so got to make sure the shelves are full.”

Taeyong gave an understanding thumbs-up.

“Can do. See you at home,” he smiled, leaning in for a bro-hug. “Oh, and I made that white trash chicken chili thing you like. It’s in the crockpot. It’ll be done by the time you get home, just make sure you stir it all up this time.”

“Fuck yeah!” Yuta dabbed for no reason. “Swag.”

He threw up a couple of peace signs and went on his way.

_Just another four hours on my own where my only responsibility is to keep the store from burning down._

Honestly, this gig was ideal for Taeyong. And Yuta, as well. No big decisions, minimal culpability – but full-time hours and decent healthcare! For two dudes in their late-twenties still living it up, it was a pretty fucking chill.

Of course, it had its bad days. Days where customers seemed to want to skin him alive because the store never put scrapbook stickers on sale, or because they didn’t have enough yarn in the same dye lot (whatever the fuck that meant). But he had a thick skin, and when he had his best buddy to go home to at the end of the night, it was a-ok!

With nothing else to get up to straight away, he started on the canvas. Taeyong made his way to The Secret Room.

It was a weird space: a skinny, excess corridor between this store and the one beside it. It was left behind from when the property was renovated a few years ago, so they gave it its slightly ridiculous name and used it as an extra stock room. Taeyong remembered having to explain it to Renjun, who thought it was a joke when he was asked to check The Secret Room for overstock on a specific picture frame.

He started pulling some small canvases off of the shelf, careful not to disrupt the others that were stacked beside it (lest he feel the wrath of Sicheng, the meticulous stock specialist who was very protective of his System).

Taeyong buried himself in the task for a while, which freed up his few spare brain cells to think. And think he did.

He thought about what he had said before.

_Not that I care, but...what if they tell everyone and then everyone really thinks I’m gay. Yuta too. Shit. I guess if I had to be gay with someone, though, Yuta is pretty deece. He’s cool. He would be a good boyfriend._

Taeyong froze. _Shit, where did that come from?_

He shook his head, clearing the thought for now while he went about stocking.

Once he was done, he putzed around for a while. He answered a few customer service calls and got a head-start on covering a cashiering shift for someone tomorrow but he hit a wall, so he decided to leave it for the opening manager in the morning (Sorry, Kun).

With nothing better to do, Taeyong headed back to the framing workshop, checking the ipad for new buy-online-pick-up-in-store orders that needed to be filled. Jaehyun and Doyoung were heavily stuck into some production, quietly working away to assemble frames.

Taeyong leaned against the counter, tapping the tablet distractedly. Something was still eating at him.

“Guys, I fucked up.”

Jaehyun snorted. “What did you do this time?”

_Great, now it’s all going to come out._

“Okay, well you know how Renjun and Jaemin are,” he paused and glanced around before mouthing ‘gay’ super obviously. “Well... I accidentally called them that, like to their little innocent faces, and to cover my tracks, I said it was okay because I’m gay too. And Yuta.”

Doyoung hummed, reaching for the staple gun to secure the art in his frame.

“Yeah?” was all Jaehyun had to add.

“Yeah.”

Taeyong chewed on his bottom lip. He had really hoped for more of a response than that.

“Sooo, now everyone is gonna think I’m gay. _We’re_ gay.”

The two finally stopped working and looked up at him.

“Are you not?”

Taeyong’s eyes flashed between the two of them. He had worked with them both for a long time now by retail standards.

“No! We’re not!” he shrieked.

“Are you sure?” Doyoung asked, squinting.

“Uh yeah, man. _Pretty_ sure.”

Jaehyun quirked an eyebrow at him. “But you live together, right? And you even usually cook for him and stuff?”

“I mean, yes but that’s a practical solution,” Taeyong rolled his eyes. “He would burn the house down.”

“And you have cats?”

“Two cats,” he confirmed. “We just got a goldfish too. Yuta named him Spike.”

Taeyong laughed, but the others were still staring at him.

“How does that make us gay?!”

“You also touch each other’s butts a lot,” Jaehyun pointed out. “And you’re like, big into astrology.”

“Because it’s interesting! God, you air signs are so annoying...” Taeyong groaned, purposefully glossing over the butt-touching comment.

“Also remember when you made us judge your guys’ Level Up challenge? That was... Well, I don’t know if it was gay, but it was _weird_ ,” Doyoung added.

Taeyong was verifiably thunderstruck.

“I think we all just assumed...” Jaehyun smirked, turning back to his frame. “I mean, you two do everything together. You’re pretty like, codependent, at least.”

“You _all_ _assumed?!_ ”

“What? It’s not like anyone has a problem with it,” Doyoung said.

“Well, there’s no ‘it’ to have a problem with, because I am just a cool, hetero, _not gay_ dude.”

“Who lives together with his cats and fish, eating the food he cooks for his also fully hetero boyfriend,” Jaehyun mumbled.

Doyoung lowered his head and pursed his lips to keep from laughing.

“Screw you guys, we’re not gay,” Taeyong huffed.

“It’s okay, bro, for real!” Jaehyun called, but Taeyong was already stomping away

He grabbed the ipad and took it with him around the store. Frowning, he pulled items to fill the new customer orders.

 _Those dickheads don’t know anything about anything,_ he thought.

Taeyong was so annoyed, all the way up until it was time to start closing out cash drawers for the night. He caught a little interaction between Renjun and Jaemin on the front end.

Without staring, he noticed the two goofing around. Jaemin was apparently teasing and tugging at Renjun’s vest while the latter attempted to organize the candy at the register, until Renjun eventually shoved him away laughing and scolding him.

They looked like Yuta and himself when they were eighteen. They looked like Yuta and himself when they were...their current ages.

_Hmm..._

He yoinked the till out of register 3 and stacked it on top of the tills for registers 1 and 2, before taking them into the office to continue closing.

His thoughts were getting increasingly muddled about this whole business. And it didn’t get any better by the time he was driving home.

No matter how loudly the bass pounded in his little blue Sentra, Taeyong couldn’t seem to shake the Gay Question from his noggin. The muscles in his forehead were starting to cramp from the unending brow-furrowing.

“Why am I so confused all of a sudden?” He whined to himself while he sat waiting at red light.

_Maybe talking to Yuta will make me feel better. He always makes me feel better._

With that resolved, he welcomed the slightest bit of relief but not enough to feel comfortable. His fingers tapped nervously on the steering wheel. _Why is this light always so long?!_

By the time he was pushing inside their shared condo, his heart was thumping in his ears.

“Yu—”

His housemate launched himself up from the couch at the sound of the front door.

“Fuck, finally. Dude, we gotta talk,” Yuta announced, placing his hands decidedly on his hips. “I kinda can’t stop thinking about the gay thing.”

Taeyong dropped his keys in the bowl on top of their kitchen bar, weirdly thankful that they were on the same page.

“Me too. My head is all over the place.”

He headed into the kitchen to get himself some of the leftover chicken chili that Yuta had, predictably, left in the crockpot for him.

“Jaehyun and Doyoung said they thought we were gay already. Did you know that?” Taeyong pouted, ladling some mush into a bowl.

Their one cat, a fat Scottish Fold breed, hovered around Taeyong’s feet in the kitchen.

“Hey Scoop.” (They thought it was amazingly funny to name the chubby cat after hype man Fatman Scoop of mid-2000’s fame.) “You fed them, right? Where’s Mr. Domino?” (Their other cat, a curious, orangey mixed breed, was named after their favorite fast food.)

“Yes and I don’t know, he was under the couch for a while,” Yuta said dismissively. “What about us is gay? So what if we live together and work together? So what if we adopted some kittens together? And Spike? So what if we hang out all the time? And share clothes? And have our movie nights? And go wine shopping on Sundays?”

The more Yuta listed, the more unsure his voice sounded.

“Gee, when you list it all out like that, it does sound _slightly_ suspect, ya know?” Taeyong sighed. “But are you even attracted to guys? Am I? That seems like a pretty strong prerequisite...”

“I don’t know, man... Now that I think about it, I just... It kinda feels likes I’ve just been cruisin’ on the hetero autopilot all this time...”

Yuta picked at the linoleum countertop between himself and his roommate/potential gay crush.

Taeyong froze with a spoonful of chili halfway to his open mouth. He brought the spoon back down to the bowl. _Shit, have I been doing the same thing??? Yuta is so insightful._

“Maybe...” He was starting to panic a little. He had hoped Yuta would be the voice of reason and snap him out of it. “Or maybe we’re just overthinking it.”

Yuta hummed.

“Look, we’ve got just about the sweetest life two not gay dudes can have together, right?”

Yuta nodded, dipping his head from side to side like he was being convinced.

“So maybe we shouldn’t like, rock the boat...”

“Yeah... I guess.”

Soon they were back to their usual Thursday night routine: couchin’ it up with the bong and some Rick & Morty on hulu. (One of their favorite things about working at Matthew’s was the entire lack of drug testing, even after the occurrence of an accident!) Scoop was lazing in Taeyong’s lap while he periodically played with the laser pointer for Mr. Domino.

The more he smoked, the more Taeyong’s brain started feeling looser. He let his eyes wander just a little more freely.

He always did like the way Yuta looked when he blew smoke. His lips were...pretty. And his eyes were sexy when they started to get that hooded look about them.

“You’re staring at me.”

“Sorry you look hot.”

The words were well out of Taeyong’s mouth before his brain actually processed the thought.

Yuta was quiet, leaning back against the couch. Suddenly he sat forward. The movement made Scoop wobble out of Taeyong’s lap and fwomp onto the carpet.

“Fuck it. Alright, let’s do it.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened and he felt his cheeks burn quite unmercifully. “D-do what?”

He knew what.

“Kiss.” Yuta twisted his body toward Taeyong. “Let’s try it.”

“Sure, okay,” he said quietly, turning like his counterpart did. “Just like... um...”

Taeyong fumbled on his next words, unsure of whatever it was he wanted to say to delay this encounter.

“If it’s bad, then we know for sure. And that’s that. We’ll still be best buds,” Yuta said simply and reassuringly. “If it’s good...”

Yuta smirked and Taeyong was actually burning alive under the heat of his blush.

“Okay...”

The next seconds past like minutes.

“I’m not gonna kiss you if you don’t even look at me, dude.” Yuta rolled his eyes.

Taeyong glanced up. He must’ve looked positively distressed.

“Wow, I’m _definitely_ not gonna kiss you if you look at me like _that_ ,” Yuta grimaced. “Chill out, it’s just a kiss between bros.”

  _A kiss between bros doesn’t sound so scary..._ Taeyong took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding.

Yuta took his face in both hands and peered at him. But he started giggling and looked away.

“Come on, man!” Taeyong demanded, smacking his knee.

“Sorry, just— okay, let me take one more rip first.”

Yuta reached for the bong settled on the coffee table and took a deep inhale.

“Okay,” he croaked out, still holding the smoke in his lungs before finally exhaling. “I’m ready.”

He shook his head like he was preparing himself.

Once he moved just a centimeter closer, Taeyong squeezed his eyes shut.

Yuta’s lips were soft. Much softer than he would’ve expected, since he’d never once seen him use the trendy-looking balm Ten insisted on giving out to everyone for Christmas...

And Yuta was still. Also unexpected. And then he just pulled away!

Taeyong’s eyes peaked open.

“Is that it?”

“Oh, shut up,” Yuta tutted, pulling his hands away, blushing. “Well?”

Taeyong thought for a moment. It was nice, but how could he be sure? It lasted all of 1.6 seconds.

“I think...we should do it again?” Taeyong suggested. “To be sure.”

Apparently, he didn’t need much convincing. Yuta nodded and resituated himself.

This time, there was less fuss. Taeyong rested his hand on Yuta’s thigh and Yuta confidently placed his hand behind Taeyong’s neck, leaning in.

He captured Taeyong’s lips comfortably. After a moment, Taeyong tilted his head. Yuta took the cue and deepened the kiss, pulling him just a little bit closer.

This was no little grade school peck – this was the real deal.

_When was the last time I was kissed? What the fuck, was it always like this?_

He could feel Yuta’s tongue swiping gently at his bottom lip with every shift, and his dick twitched in his jeans. This was it. It was happening.

Head swimming like he was in a pool of glittery, bubbly slime, Taeyong opened up just a smidge more to let him in.

_I am actually getting tongued down by my best friend. And it’s good? Like, maybe awesome?_

It was a little clumsy, a little teeth-y, but overall pretty great. For both of them. (Kissing is the bee’s knees, isn’t it?)

Taeyong was starting to gasp a little here and there as his lungs tightened. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he pushed his hand against Yuta’s chest and pulled away, much to his disappointment.

He panted for a second, catching his breath. Damn his weak lungs.

“You good?” Yuta asked, voice just slightly raspy.

It took all the willpower in his body to force himself to make eye contact. He nodded.

“That was weird, but in a good way,” Taeyong admitted.

“A really good way, right?” Yuta agreed, leaning back and running a hand through his hair.

That sent more blood rushing to Taeyong’s nether region. _Shit, he is dead-ass sexy._

“So, I guess we...might be gay?”

Taeyong sighed and reached for the bong. He inhaled and thought, before letting the smoke drift out.

“Straight... Gay... Bi... I don’t know. It’s all just a spectrum, isn’t it? Maybe we should leave the labels up to the suits in Washington, man,” he decided.

Yuta scrunched his brows because he had no idea what the fuck that meant. He was pretty goddamn high.

“But we should def kiss some more. Like, a lot,” Taeyong added. “Like, now.”

“I’m into that,” Yuta shrugged, smiling.

Taeyong smiled too, until he started giggling softly. He reached his hand over, creeping it along Yuta’s leg until it reached his hand. If kissing was so swell, he wanted to know if holding hands would be delightful too.

Because they shared the same brain, Yuta automatically flipped his hand over and entwined their fingers.

_OH yes. This is the good stuff._

“Also weird but good,” Taeyong noted.

Suddenly, Yuta yanked Taeyong’s entire flimsy torso in his direction. His legs got sort of squished up against the other’s so Yuta hooked his other arm around his waist. He hiked Taeyong onto his lap.

Taeyong was frighteningly aware of the growing rocket in his pocket but he didn’t have time to think when his friend literally held his jaw in a vice grip and pulled his face to his own.

Honestly, they lost track of time making out. Kissing Yuta sort of felt like a flurry of sparkles exploding in his stomach. His body and consciousness felt like it was being pulled endlessly on a taffy machine.

It was _awesome_.

 

///

 

“So, check it out: we’re dating now,” Yuta announced matter-of-factly.  

From his desk chair, Kun blinked at Taeyong and Yuta, who were side by side in the doorway of the store’s office. Ten, who was standing nearby filing some paperwork, stopped in his tracks. His eyes were wide with interest – something he rarely had while working.

“Alright... Congratulations?” Kun responded, eyeing them crankily.

“Were you not already?” Ten chimed in, chuckling, but everyone ignored him.

“We’ve seen ‘The Office’ so,” Taeyong added. “Do we need to sign like, a waiver or something?”

“Oh god, this is great,” Ten smirked quietly, leaning against a file cabinet.

Kun huffed at Ten’s comment and shot him a look.

“No. You two have the same job. You’re on the same level,” he explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, but—”

“No offense guys, but I have the District Manager so far up my ass right now about payroll that I really don’t have time for this,” Kun grumbled and turned back to the clunky desktop computer. “I don’t care what you do, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.”

“ _Sweet_ ,” they sang, almost in unison.

The two high-fived triumphantly, and Yuta pulled Taeyong in for a small kiss.

Ten made a sound like a _blech_ and returned to his filing. He might’ve been gay himself but seeing the Gruesome Twosome kissing just kind of skeeved him out.

“No PDA at work,” Kun reminded, so very exasperated already. “Please go do something productive.”

Taeyong and Yuta shrugged and scooted out of the office.

“We crushed that,” Yuta declared.

It was true. Kun was in a perpetual state of annoyance, but as long as he wasn’t yelling at them, they considered it a successful interaction.

Taeyong smiled brightly and nudged Yuta with his shoulder. Their hands brushed together, and Taeyong, feeling cute, looped his pinky around Yuta’s little finger as they walked toward the back.

Renjun passed by them on his way to walk Jaemin out. He paused, turning on his heels to watch them.

“Huh. Is that how _we_ look?” Renjun questioned, staring.

“Yeah, baby,” Jaemin sighed, curling his arm around the other’s narrow shoulders. “It is.”

“Damn,” Renjun frowned. “That’s so gay.”

 

~

**Author's Note:**

> ookK so ksjfksdfk what did y'all think??! i hope you liked it lmao also yeah i totally stole one line from its always sunny but it’s fINE 
> 
> if you did please LEAVE KUDOS AND COMMENTS and tell me your thoughts weee! <3
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


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